BHS: Philip Green demands 'immediate apology' from Frank Field

Former BHS proprietor Sir Philip Inexperienced has demanded an “rapid apology” from MP Frank Field for feedback he made about his working of the collapsed retailer.

Speaking To the BBC, the co-chair of an inquiry into BHS when put next Sir Philip unfavourably to late media magnate Robert Maxwell, who took hundreds of thousands from the Mirror Staff’s pension dollars.

“As A Substitute of writing an incredible cheque he is firing off legal professionals’ letters. He needs to forestall messing round and write a tremendous cheque”.

His prior remarks had been made on Radio 4’s Nowadays programme.

The Advance got here after a damning MPs’ Record, printed on Monday, concluded Sir Philip, the billionaire former proprietor of BHS, extracted massive sums and left the Business on “lifestyles support”.

The Record, from the Industry, Innovation and abilities and Work and Pensions committees and co-chaired via Mr Container, didn’t recommend that Sir Phillip had executed anything unlawful.

Nevertheless It stated his failure to resolve BHS’s £571m pension deficit used to be a significant component In The agency’s loss of life.

The pension scheme is now In The Pension Safety Fund, that means that its 20,000 contributors will obtain much less money than they had anticipated

Sir Philip, responding late on Monday to the File, known as it “the predetermined and inaccurate output of a biased and unfair process”.

Picture copyrightGetty Photography

Image caption
BHS is Within The process of closing down

BHS is In The means of closing down after what the MPs Record referred to as the “shambolic” ownership of Dominic Chappell, who sold the retail chain from Sir Philip for £1 final yr.

BHS was once “hurriedly bought to a glaringly unsuitable” buyer in that deal, even supposing Sir Philip knew Mr Chappell was a former bankrupt without a retail expertise, the MPs found.

The sale went unchallenged as a result of Sir Philip ran his retail empire as “a private fiefdom”, they stated.

‘Unhappy and sorry’

“With the benefit of hindsight, Clearly Retail Acquisitions and Mr Chappell had been a very bad option as buyer on many fronts and I Think badly let down,” said Sir Philip.

However he said the sale of BHS was “made one hundred per cent in just right religion”.

“As I instructed the committees, I Am trying to find an answer for the BHS pension and am continuing to work with the Regulator to achieve an end result.

“I’m Unhappy and sorry for the entire BHS people caught up on this horrid story, But I don’t imagine that this story is being in any respect quite portrayed.”

Media caption“My recommendation to him all alongside used to be to pay up,” says Frank Container.

Mr Field and Sir Philip have had a long-operating feud, with the Monaco-based totally businessman accusing the Labour chair of the Work and Pensions Committee of bias and conducting a “trial by way of media”.

Sir Philip at the beginning refused to seem earlier than MPs final month unless Mr Box resigned as chairman.

He sooner or later relented announcing it “would be the first and handiest possibility I’ve needed to tell my facet of the very Sad BHS story.”

Schillings’ letter to Frank Box on behalf of Sir Philip Inexperienced in full:

25 July 2016

URGENT

Pricey Sir

SIR PHILIP Inexperienced

We act for Sir Philip Green and write with regards to your interview on Radio Four’s As Of Late programme this morning.

In that interview you alleged that our consumer had stolen cash, particularly from the BHS and Arcadia pension funds. This observation is extremely defamatory and fully false.

Our client has by no means stolen any money from BHS, Arcadia or the pension dollars and you realize that. Specifically, there may be nothing In The contemporary Report of the Work and Pensions and Business, Innovation and abilities Committees, (the File) (of which you have been one of the vital Chairs) to fortify your allegation.

Obviously an allegation that our client is a thief is prone to lead to him serious harm.

Additional, on the subject of the recent Parliamentary hearings and the Record and allegations made there you were secure with the aid of privilege. That Does Not apply to the interview this morning (or any others you intend to make).

Within The circumstances, our client requires an immediate and fulsome apology in the case of the allegation (to be agreed in the case of the content material and method with the aid of this agency in advance of e-newsletter).

We look forward to hearing from you on this point within 24 hours. This subject is Naturally PRESSING as your defamatory statements are being repeated Within The media, for which you’re indisputably in charge.

The Opposite therapies to which our consumer is Evidently entitled will very a lot rely on Form and manner of your response and Within The meantime, all of our shopper’s rights are reserved.